



; 


LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
















































HINTS 


PLUMBERS 


JL.1STJD 

HOUSEHOLDERS. 


BY WS L. D. O’GRADY. 


diflillj Illustrations. 


f 

j A 


NEW YORK: 

Published by the Amekican News Company. 

1878. 


























HINTS 


TO 


P L DM B E R S 


AND 


Householders 


/ 

BY W. L. I). O’GRADY. 










COPYRIGHT, 1878. 


ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 






CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Introduction .. v 

Chapter I. —Traps___ 7 

II.—Traps, ( Continued )...10 

III.—How to Fight Sewer Gas....... .17 

IY.—Practice and Precaution......27 

V.—The Plumber’s Worst Enemy .. _32 

VI.—Gas Fittings and Other Fittings.35 

VII. — Some Things Worth Knowing... .42 











INTRODUCTION. 


-:o:- 

he plumber holds in liis hands the 
keys of life and death. If he is in¬ 
telligent, skillful, conscientious, he 
can stand guard and defeat the most insidi¬ 
ous enemy that mortal man has ever had to 
fight in the great city. If he lacks in these 
qualifications, he opens the doors of death. 

The plumber’s task is not a pleasant one. 
He is often compelled to do duty of the most 
disagreeable kind, to inhale vile odors, and 
gases that are inimical to health and life 
itself. But he shrinks from no task, how¬ 
ever great the risk he may incur. 

The householder is interested in this man. 
He is the householder 1 s friend, and his work 
should be appreciated. There should be a 
mutual understanding between the two. Both 









VI 


INTRODUCTION. 


should seek information concerning the best 
methods for fighting the foe which night and 
day seeks to gain access to our dwellings. 
On the one hand there should be conscien¬ 
tious workmanship ; on the other a generous 
appreciation that manifests itself in paying 
fair prices for services rendered. Cheap 
plumbing implies bad work, and bad health. 

This little book is sent out with the hope 
that, inasmuch as it is published In a cheap 
form, it will meet the popular want. It is 
intended, as its title indicates, for the plumber 
and for the householder. 


CHAPTER I. 

TKAPS. 

Where great numbers of people are gath¬ 
ered together, emanations of a dangerons 
character to health, which are generated in 
even the smallest communities, become so in¬ 
tensified that to remove their' evil effect 
science has to be called into play. We hear 
every now and then of some isolated country 
farm-house being a j>erfect death-trap, but 
on investigation it is always found that the 
deadly results ensue from long continued 
and gross neglect. 

Moses, the earliest lawgiver, whose wise 
precepts have been the basis of all existing 
sanitary regulations in civilized countries, 
entered into very minute legislation in sani¬ 
tary matters. Moses, however, knew no 
such cities as those of to-day, and probably 
knew nothing about lead, which is so im¬ 
portant a feature in plumbing and from 
which ( plumbum —Latin for lead) the words 
plumbing and plumbers are derived. 

The tribes of Israel, when Moses ruled 
them, were dwellers in tents, and when they 
arrived at Judea, for years and years, and cen- 


8 


TRAPS. 


turies, their houses were, as a rule, one story- 
structures, and all sanitary conveniences 
were in the primitive style, which indeed 
lasted into our day, and still lasts even in 
this civilized land, in many places, in the 
shape of cesspools. 

Now, cesspools are poisonous, and, al¬ 
though, if at a distance from dwellings, their 
effluvia may not be disagreeable except in 
their immediate vicinity, they poison the air, 
and in certain states of the atmosphere, in 
cloudy, damp days, for instance, with a wind 
blowing directly on a house, produce very 
serious effects. 

Modern civilization in cities has provided, 
as did the civilization of old Rome, for car¬ 
rying away the dangerous elements in sewers. 
But the deleterious gases do not depart so 
readily. They lurk about. They fly to the 
easiest vent, and whenever they have access 
to inhabited apartments destroy health, if 
they do not kill. But for the plumbers many 
thousands of lives would annually be lost 
more than are now. The deadly cholera of 
India, which has worked its way westward 
season after season, sometimes more than at . 
others, but a regular annual visitant to 
Europe, beginning among the crowded pil¬ 
grims to the sacred shrines of Hindostan, 


Slale No. I 






















































































































































































TRAPS. 


9 


conveyed by pious Mohammedans flocking 
to Mecca, brought by sea and land from the 
ports of the Levant, and which has occasion¬ 
ally cruelly scourged America ; typhus and 
typhoid fever, and diphtheria, are nothing 
but sewer gas diseases. 

How shall these sewer gas diseases be pre¬ 
vented? The first sensible idea, exorcism 
and other superstitious efforts having been 
previously ineffectually tried, was to keep 
the gas away. The existence and nature of 
the gas had first to be recognized, and then 
it became possible for intelligent means to 
be taken to keep it away. Fire and water 
are the two great purifiers, but it was not 
easily seen how fire could help in this matter, 
so people naturally began to call on water to 
help them, and, after a great deal of thought 
and experimenting, arrived at the idea of 
traps with a water seal. 

Typical specimens of several well-known 
traps are shown in Plate No. 1, and other 
traps, each claiming peculiar advantages, 
are quite' numerous. 

Traps of a proper construction are indeed 
most important, but where to place them is 
a matter of still greater importance. The 
best traps may be placed where they may 
become most mischievous, and, in fact, do a 
great deal more harm than good. 


10 


TRAPS—CONTINUED. 


CHAPTER II. 

TRAPS—CONTINUED. 

There should be a small trap close to every 
water-closet and every wash-basin and every 
sink provided among “modern improve¬ 
ments,” but the main soil-pipe should be 
Tcept clear. 

There are serious differences of opinion on 
this point. Many prominent plumbers state 
that they, for their part, will not ventilate 
the sewers through their houses, or those of 
their clients. They hold that the ventilation 
of sewers and their individual soil-pipes in 
houses cause such a vitiation of the sur¬ 
rounding atmosphere as to be highly dan¬ 
gerous, and that they can stop the sewer gas 
from entering houses by water-seal (or, in 
some cases by mechanical devices, such as 
floating gutta percha or india rubber balls) 
so that the gas must be driven to the outlet 
of the * sewer, as the easiest way to escape. 

But the outlet of sewers is frequently 
subject to the influence of tides, and where 
the mouth of the sewer is obstructed by 
tides, the gas will And its vent elsewhere, 


TEAPS—CONTINUED. 


11 


and it will always seek its easiest outlet, and 
the easiest outlet is, usually, nearest the 
source of its production. 

The law in New York, and very generally 
elsewhere, is that soil-pipes should be left 
clear to and above the roofs of houses. The 
law does not dogmatize as to the number of 
traps in this soil-pipe. 

If the principle of pure ventilation is cor¬ 
rect, there should be no trap in the upright 
pipe at all. 

There should certainly be traps in the 
lateral pipes connecting with the drains. 

These are the views of many most eminent 
men, and have recently been forcibly enun¬ 
ciated by a prominent manufacturer of traps, 
who states plainly, and perfectly disinterest¬ 
edly, that the adoption of his views will, in 
all probability, lessen the demand for the 
goods he makes. 

This is not the place to discuss the merits 
of any particular trap, but, if this theory of 
a clear, ventilated, upright soil-pipe is cor¬ 
rect, and that is the law, so far, at least, as 
it is laid down that the pipe should be car¬ 
ried clear of the roof, it would appear to 
matter comparatively little what trap is used 
for the horizontal pipe. 


12 


TRAPS—CONTINUED. 


The witty clergyman, the Rev. Sidney 
Smith, once observed that railway accidents 
would never cease till a bishop had been 
sacrified. Bishops and other important per¬ 
sons have succumbed to railway accidents, 
and, in point of fact, such accidents have 
since been fewer and less severe. 

It may, perhaps, be said that death by 
sewer gas will not be considered a crime till 
distinguished people have, knowingly, been 
subject to it. They have died by it; and the 
Royal family of Great Britain has been 
peculiarly pursued by it. Fifth avenue 
mansions cannot keep out the seeds of dis¬ 
ease borne on the winds from tenements sacri¬ 
ficed to sewer gas by ignorance, carelessness 
or greed ; and the young and beautiful, and 
the pretty little babies of the most prosperous 
as well as of the humblest families, have, for 
years,succumbed to the poisonous breath first 
breathed in noisome tenement houses, though 
not seldom introduced through some unsus¬ 
pected leak direct into the house they live in. 

A few dollars rightly spent, with vigilance, 
might make even the poorest tenement house 
in New York City as pure as the air of 
heaven above it. 

It has been objected that if every house¬ 
holder in a city had his soil-pipe clear to the 


TRAPS—CONTINUED. 


13 


sky that the aggregate of the offensive gas 
would poison the community. Does it not 
poison the community as it is ? There 
would be comparatively little harm in the 
gas when mixed with atmospheric air at 
a level many feet above the sidewalk. 

Clear the ground atmosphere, and citizens 
will be healthy. And as to soil-pipes, keep 
them clear, without any traps at all, in the 
perpendicular, and if necessary, supplement 
the buoyant properties of the gas by special 
ventilating apparatus. Give the gas a clear 
and sufficient passage, and pure air will rush 
in to supply its place below. 

This is common sense. But the lateral 
traps must not be forgotten. 

Fig. 1 is an illustration of the section of 
the ordinary bell trap. These traps con¬ 
sist of a ball attached to the grating and dip¬ 
ping into the water, retained in the chamber 
of the trap, and covering the discharge pipe. 
The seal of these traps rarely exceeds one 
quarter of an inch in depth, and they cannot 
be depended upon, as servants will remove 
the grating and the trap with them, and so 
place the house in direct communication 
with the sewer. Moreover, the small amount 
of seal provided in traps of this class is soon 


14 


TRAPS—CONTINUED. 


lost by evaporation, especially in the heated 
rooms in which they are often placed. 

Fig. 2 is an illustration of the self-acting 
valve trap of Mr. Clark, of Reading, Eng¬ 
land. It consists of a lead receiver 4% in. 
diameter, with a brass grate on the top. The 
receiver holds about half an inch of water, 
into which the outer edge of the hollow- 
turned copper ball dips when its indented 
bottom rests on the top of the outlet-pipe, 
forming a valve trap. When water enters 
through the brass grating, the ball floats 
and allows it to escape, but so soon as the 
flow subsides, the ball resumes its position. 
This is a decided improvement on the ordin¬ 
ary bell trap, but is liable to be tampered 
with, and both the grating and valve may 
be readily removed, leaving the drain un¬ 
trapped. 

Fig. 3 is an illustration of Tye and An¬ 
drews’ sink trap. Its advantage consists in 
the greater depth of seal provided. The 
gratings are usually locked, which is no ad¬ 
vantage, as servants should be instructed 
not to cast matters down the gullies which 
they are not intended to receive, and also to 
periodically clean out the trap in order to 
free it from those matters liable to unseal it. 
Ample space, therefore, should be provided 


T RAPS—C 0NTINTJ ED. 


15 


in all traps, so that the hand may be freely 
inserted for the removal of any matter pre¬ 
judicial to the action of the trap. 

Fig. 4 is a representation of Antill’s trap 
with Stidder’s lock grating. This forms a 
very efficient trap. 

Fig. 5 is a trap suitable for a lavatory, con¬ 
structed in order to catch soap. The plug 
at the bottom may be removed, and the de¬ 
posit of soap taken out. A is the pipe lead¬ 
ing from the bottom of the basin ; B is the 
overflowing pipe from the basin, and 0 the 
discharge pipe. 

Fig. 6 is an illustration of a house trap 
supplied with a down outlet. 

Fig. 7 is an ordinary house trap. 

Figs. 8 and 9 are illustrations of the plan 
and section of Mansergh’s trap. This trap is 
specially intended to prevent the ingress of 
sewer gas into houses by “waste and over¬ 
flow pipes from cisterns, baths, lavatories, 
bath and lavatory safes, and sinks,” and is 
always to be placed outside the house. In 
one piece of stoneware two water seals are 
formed, and between the two is an open com¬ 
munication to the air by means of the surface 
grating. If, therefore, the pressure in the 
branch drain is sufficient to force the gas 
through the first or lower seal, it will escape 


16 


TRAPS—CONTINUED. 


into the air, and cannot possibly pass the 
second seal, and so enter the house. It has 
the advantage of receiving the waste water 
underground, out of sight; there is conse¬ 
quently never any foul water on the surface. 
The open grating admits of its serving as a 
yard gully. 

Figs. 10 and 11 are illustrations of an “ In¬ 
terceptor’’ trap. In Fig. 10 the trap is pro¬ 
vided with a ventilating-pipe, and in Fig. 
11 charcoal is applied in mass, through which 
sewer air which may pass the trap is allowed 
to escape. This form of trap is intended to 
be fixed close to the outer wall of a building. 
The receptacle for the water-lute is in two 
compartments, a a , into which a diaphragm 
or plate b dips, and an intercepting chamber 
c is thus formed, by means of which the 
sewer gas forcing a passage is caught and 
carried off by a pipe cl to any convenient 
place for its escape. 

Fig. 12 is a representation of an ordinary 
flat siphon trap, provided with a junction 
for inspecting and cleaning the trap when 
required. 

Fig. 13 is a representation of an S trap, 
fitted with an opening on the top of the trap, 
closed with an air-tight cap, made after the 
manner of the stopper of a pickle jar. 


TRAPS—CONTINUED. 


17 


Fig. 14 is an ordinary P siphon trap. This 
form of trap is largely used, and is well 
adapted to form the trap of a water-closet, 
and is much more readily flushed and kept 
clean than some other forms of siphon trap. 

Fig. 15 is the representation of ah trap, 
with ventilating pipe V. This form of trap 
is very generally adopted by plumbers, and 
is usually made in lead. It is also made in 
earthenware. It is a dip trap, which forms 
a siphon. 


CHAPTER III. 

HOW TO EIGHT SEWER GAS. 

About the upright arrangements of a house, 
there are, as we have said, very different 
opinions. When, as in cities, connections 
with the sewers are made, and are carried up 
according to law, above the roof, the occu¬ 
pants of dwellings are apt to rebel at the idea 
of making themselves constructive scaven¬ 
gers for other people—or even for them¬ 
selves. 

Another idea has been mooted, and it has 
even been tried in some cities in Europe. 



18 


TRAPS—CONTINUED. 


Heated chimneys—or great air shafts—of 
enormous dimensions, have been connected 
with the main sewers, and the gases, induced 
in their direction, poured in masses from 
them. 

Whether so concentrated the gases from a 
city could be sufficiently rendered innoxious, 
is a serious question. It might fairly be 
argued that a mass of putrid gas so collected 
in one locality, and liable to be wafted in a 
solid column of pestilence, must be something 
terrible, and that the atmospheric air imme¬ 
diately adjacent to such an outflow of plague 
could not so amalgamate with it as to render 
it harmless. 

This is possible. It has been suggested, 
for instance, that in the city of New York, 
sewer gas outlets connected with the main 
sewers should be made next the heated 
chimneys of the various factories. If the air 
were still and the factories equi-distant, there 
is no doubt that the foul air could be drawn 
out from the sewers and the pressure on pri¬ 
vate houses very much lessened, and, indeed, 
almost extinguished, so that, at any rate, the 
most ordinary traps would suffice to keep 
out sewer gas and keep the premises clear. 

But, with any of the winds which so rarely 
desert New York, some one or other of these 


TKAPS—CONTINUED. 


19 


outlets connected with the sewers would 
have to bear the brunt of the whole pestilen¬ 
tial burden, and the effects of such an un¬ 
seen column of concentrated sewer gas might 
well be imagined as something appalling. 

In support of these views we annex a 
powerful and convincing article by one of 
the greatest of modern domestic architects, 
as contradistinguished from the gentlemen 
whose aim is to immortalize themselves with 
the inception or restoration of great churches 
and cathedrals. We speak of R. Norman 
Shaw, who has gained such celebrity in con¬ 
nection with the revival of the so-called 
Queen Anne style of architecture. 

He speaks thus : 

It is hardly necessary to enter on a lengthy 
essay to urge the desirability of having our 
houses efficiently drained, as nearly all peo¬ 
ple nowadays are fully alive to the necessity ; 
and the numerous inventions which are con¬ 
tinually being brought out, jjrove that a 
very wide-spread feeling exists, that our 
present arrangements are far from satisfac¬ 
tory, and are capable of much improvement. 
One of the drawbacks of all these new inven¬ 
tions is that they complicate more or less the 
plan generally in use; either the mechanism is 
more elaborate, and consequently more li- 


20 


TRAPS—CONTINUED. 


able to get out of order, or they require 
greater attention, as in the case of all those 
in which the improvement consists in the 
mechanical application of any deodorizing 
or disinfecting chemical; with any arrange¬ 
ment of this latter kind, when the novelty is 
worn off, it ceases to be attended to regularly, 
and so becomes practically useless. 

My object in writing these notes is to ex¬ 
plain a plan I have adopted, and has been 
found to be perfectly efficient ; it is simpler 
and less costly than the plan generally in 
use; and as it is absolutely impossible for 
sewer gas to enter a house where it is used, 
it follows that the occupants are free from 
all danger from this source—a point that 
cannot be too strongly dwelt upon, when it is 
remembered that several of our most serious 
outbreaks of epidemic fever have been di¬ 
rectly traced to a defective state of house 
drainage, and also that medical men tell us 
that much illness, and even mortality, exists 
among children and people of delicate con¬ 
stitution, arising from the same cause ; in 
fact no one is safe : it is a danger ever pres¬ 
ent, and is seldom discovered or even suspect¬ 
ed till too late. 

The modern plan, with hardly an excep¬ 
tion, is to connect our closets with the under- 


TRAPS—CONTINUED. 


21 


ground drains by closed soil-pipes, trapped 
at one or more points. The plan I have 
adopted is to connect the closets with the 
drains by open soil-pipes, and to leave out 
all traps with the exception of one. Thus 
no lead D traps are required; no so-called 
ventilating pipes ; no expensive junctions to 
make (always a source of weakness and 
danger): the whole arrangement becomes 
simplified at once ; and as a natural result is 
not so liable to get out of order. In the or¬ 
dinary plan a quantity of foul sewer gas is 
constantly being generated in the long length 
of closed soil-pipe. In my plan, as the soil- 
pipe is open, no gas can be generated or re¬ 
main in it. 

The simplest plan is to make a short arm 
of lead pipe attached direct to the lower por¬ 
tion of the valve-box just where the D trap 
generally comes, and led through the exteri¬ 
or wall of house in an easy bend, discharging 
into a funnel-shaped head of lead, forming 
the top of the soil-pipe. The soil-pipe is 
Bin. in diameter, but might with advantage 
be less, open at the top and bottom, the 
lower end terminating about 3in. or 4in. be¬ 
low the level of the ground, and directly 
over a carefully constructed siphon trap of 
glazed earthenware, but leaving an open 


22 


TRAPS—CONTINU El). 


space of 6in. or Sin. between the foot of the 
soil-pipe and the top of the siphon. 

The action is extremely simple—when the 
handle of the closet is pulled up, the con¬ 
tents of the pan rush, unimpeded by any 
trap , straight through the short arm first 
mentioned, fall directly down the vertical 
open soil-pipe, and sweep through the trap 
with considerable force into the under¬ 
ground drain; there is no place for any 
matter to lodge. In the ordinary arrange¬ 
ment, the contents of the pan fall into the 
D trap fron a height of. only a few inches ; 
this trap has a constant tendency to choke ; 
and it is no exaggeration to say that it is 
never clean. To ventilate this trap and soil- 
pipe, it has become a custom to put in what 
are called “ventilating pipes,” carried to 
the ridge of the house or the top of a 
chimney. They certainly serve to take off 
the extreme pressure of gas contantly accu¬ 
mulating in the upper part of the soil-pipe, 
and some of which is generally liberated 
whenever the handle is pulled up ; but that 
is all they do—in no way can they be said to 
ventilate the soil-pipe ; any more than a 
room could be said to be ventilated if it 
had a 2in. pipe inserted in the ceiling ; they 
are better than nothing, and that is all that 


TRAPS—CONTINUED. 


23 


can be said for them ; but in this arrange¬ 
ment no ventilating pipes are required, as 
the air gets freely to every part. 

When first I adopted this arrangement, I 
expected occasionally to find impure matters 
at the foot of the soil-pipe, and had not fuliy 
realized the very cleansing effect of the fall 
of water. I also thought it probable that 
this part might become coated over with a 
foul deposit, which might occasionally re¬ 
quire to be removed, but after an experience 
of two years, I have never once seen any¬ 
thing objectionable, nor is there the slight¬ 
est deposit on the upper part of trap. This 
trap has never been cleaned out or touched 
in any way, nor have any disinfectants ever 
been poured down any of the closets. Then 
I was warned by sanitary experts and 
plumbers alike, that there would be sure to 
be a smell; first, at the grating at level of 
ground; secondly, at the top of the open 
soil-pipe ; and thirdly (owing to the absence 
of a trap), in the closets. No one has ever 
yet been able to detect the slightest smell at 
the grating, nor at the top of the soil-pipe, 
and the closets are exceptionally sweet. 
They are fitted with “ water waste prevent- 
ors,” so that when the handle is held up 
till the water has ceased to flow, the air can 


24 


TRAPS—CONTINUED. 


generally be felt to blow up tlie pipe, but it 
never brings with it any smell of an offensive 
nature. 

Plate No. 2 shows the general arrange¬ 
ment clearly enough for all practical pur¬ 
poses. It will be noticed that there are two 
closets discharging into one soil-pipe ; one of 
these closets has a short arm about 4 ft. 
long, the arrangement that would be most 
usually required, but in order further to test 
the system, I made the other closet with a 
long arm, upward of 12 ft. from the pan to the 
open mouth of pipe. This latter is just as 
satisfactory as that with the shorter arm, 
being absolutely free from smell. I may add 
that I shall be glad to have the opinions of 
all interested in this subject, whether friendly 
or hostile. I have no patent to protect, nor 
any interest of any kind at stake. My only 
desire is to secure the simplest and most effi¬ 
cient means of affecting that which is admit¬ 
ted to be a difficulty and a source of danger. 

R. Norman Shaw. 

The following is an epitome given in Tlie 
Plumber of the objects to be sought in every 
dwelling to secure a good sanitary condition : 

1. No cesspool, for the collection or deten¬ 
tion of putrefying liquid refuse, should exist 


3late Noll 





LuTT^ itncitml Section of Orgrttre B 




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Plan of Cratin g & Soil pipe 


Soil pi pe 3 4~chaniete? 


l\H"l Water Pipe 


Plan at B B 


. , Sca le to Plans and Vertical Sections Scale~to~detailS~5r 'Tfttp and Grattno 

_1_ I -I I 1 f I ? , .» tM .;■. f _|_£_ j ' , - 7T,fc 

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TRAPS—CONTINUED. 


25 


within or under any dwelling under any pre¬ 
text whatever. 

2. No sewer should pass under any dwell¬ 
ing, if it can be possibly avoided. 

3. All soil pipes of water-closets should be 
thoroughly ventilated, as should also any 
pipe or space connecting the closet with the 
soil pipe, so that there may be no collection 
of sewage air under the pan or valve of the 
closet itself. 

4. All pipes from sinks and internal re¬ 
ceptacles of slops should be disconnected 
from the sewer, and should discharge through 
the outer walls of the dwelling on to a 
trapped gully with grated covering. 

5. All solid refuse collected in or near the 
dwelling should be removed at short inter¬ 
vals of time. 

6. The private sewer connecting the dwell 
ing with the common (public) sewer, or with 
any “ cesspool or other like receptacle,” as 
well as all traps and gullies, should be tho¬ 
roughly water-tight to protect the .ground 
from pollution. 

7. All private sewers should be kept clear 
of deposit by flushing, and kitchen grease 


26 


TRAPS—CONTINUED. 


should be intercepted before it can enter the 
sewers. 

8. The ground under and surrounding the 
dwelling should be drained, so that there 
shall be no subsoil water within three-feet of 
the foundations. 

9. All rooms and cellars in basements 
should be protected from the evils of upris¬ 
ing dampness by a layer of concrete under 
the floors, by damp courses in the walls, and 
by areas between the walls and the outer 
ground. 

10. No water that will not answer to the 
“attainable standard of purity” should be 
used for domestic purposes, and where pos¬ 
sible water should be supplied direct from 
its source, or from a public main, without 
the use of any cistern at all. 

11. No water should be stored in a cistern 
within the dwelling, unless it is satisfactorily 
filtered after it leaves the cistern. 

12. No water used for either drinking or 
cooking, should be obtained from the same 
cistern as that from which water is directly 
drawn for water-closets and sinks. 


PRACTICE AND PRECAUTION. 


27 


CHAPTER IY. 

PRACTICE AND PRECAUTION. 

When called upon to put a house in order, 
it is not necessary to rip it to pieces from roof 
to cellar. There is a way to find out leaks 
in pipes which is simpler and more satisfac¬ 
tory. 

To find leaks in soil and waste pipes, go to 
the roof of the house, and pour down the 
ventilating pipe a small quantity of ether, 
or, still better, because the odor is so famil¬ 
iar to everybody, a little essence of pepper¬ 
mint. Then temporarily close the ventilat¬ 
ing shaft with an old board, or anything else 
that comes handy, in order to keep the smell 
from escaping. Then follow the pipe down 
to the cellar, if need be, and yon may, with 
advantage, take some one along with you, 
who does not know what you have been 
about, so as to be sure you may not be de¬ 
ceived by imaginative odors affecting your 
own nose—a child would do as well as any 
one else—and, if there is a leak, the pepper¬ 
mint will soon make its presence known. 
You and your companion may smell it in 
the bath room, or in the cellar, but wherever 


28 


PRACTICE AND PRECAUTIOF. 


yon do smell it, depend upon it, the leak is 
there. Then look for it, and stop it, and 
stop it well. So shall the grateful house¬ 
holder pay you promptly and joyfully, and 
recommend you to others as a model 
plumber. 

There are great differences of opinion in 
matters concerning plumbing. For instance, 
it is held by many that the house sew er 
should be run underground, out of sight. 
Now r , pure common sense should teach us 
that the horizontal pipe should be run in full 
sight along the side of the w r all of the cellar, 
so that any defect can be promptly detected 
and remedied. 

One good trap, and, practically, some of 
the old traps are as good as the new ones, 
and do not choke up as much as some of the 
new ones, outside of the house, is all that is 
requisite. There should be no trap at all in 
the ventilating upright shaft, and every part 
of the plumbing about a house should be 
easily accessible. 

On no consideration should the ventilating 
shaft be used as a rainwater leader. This 
fatal mistake, by which foul air is pumped 
into houses is too often made, and, strange 
to say, too often strongly recommended by 
those who ought to know better. 


PRACTICE AND PRECAUTION. 29 

The horizontal pipe should be of iron. 
Vitrified earthenware is cleanly but fragile, 
the hubs being especially liable to be de¬ 
stroyed by heat, and the cement to connect 
them is apt to crack where the crack may not 
be readily seen. Brick and mortar or cement 
drains are bad and should never be used. 

No skill or care will suffice to keep them 
impervious to the gases which disintegrate 
them by chemical processes and allow liquid 
sewage to saturate them, and finally filter 
through. 

One thing should be remembered : sewage 
will not run up hill any more than will 
water. The soil pipes should have a regular 
descent to the sewers, and no number of 
traps or devices of any kind will keep the 
pipes clear if they are horizontal or crooked 
or tipped the wrong way in any part of their 
course. 

Lead waterpipes should always be used. 
They are, beyond doubt, the very best; least 
likely to be defective, most easily repaired 
when defective, and in every respect supe¬ 
rior to any other. They corrode easily, it is 
true, but watchfulness will prevent evil re¬ 
sulting from that unconquerable defect. 

In coupling-pipes, the favorite way is to 
use iron sleeves, but this is not the best 


30 


PRACTICE AND PRECAUTION. 


way. Crevices are apt to occur, out of sight, 
which are suffered to work much evil, per¬ 
haps, before being suspected. The best way, 
though more expensive at first, is to caulk a 
brass thimble into the iron heel and solder 
lead pipe to the thimble. 

To use putty or any common mortar or 
cement, is an outrage that no self-respecting 
plumber should be guilty of. He might just 
as well stuff up a hole with so much sponge, 
or lay aside all attempt at tight caulking, 
and just tie the pipes together with pack¬ 
thread. 

Lead pipes, though the best that can be 
used, has one objection, which, unfortu¬ 
nate^, Nature has as yet vouchsafed to 
human knowledge no provision against. For¬ 
tunately, though, for the plumbers, this ob¬ 
jection necessitates their constant employ¬ 
ment. When people are sufficiently posted, 
they will have the plumber in their houses 
as frequently and habitually as they call on 
the doctors when they or their families are 
sick, or on their lawyers when going to law. 

It is one of the properties of lead that, 
under the influence of heat, it will expand. 
But it will not contract in anything like the 
same proportion, and, as hot or warm water 
are constantly being poured through lead 


I 


PRACTICE AND PRECAUTION. 31 

pipes, it stands to reason that in course of 
time, tliis expansion, without corresponding 
contraction, must cause leakage of gas. If 
people knew this, or the plumbers were to 
warn them of it, there would be frequent in¬ 
spections, and the defects could be readily 
patched in a regular and systematic manner. 

But the public has much to learn, and the 
plumber ought to make it his business to 
teach them. A sad case in point occurred 
to the brother-in-law of one of the most suc¬ 
cessful New York plumbers. That gentle¬ 
man, with professional skill, detected, in his 
brother-in-law’s house, which, by the way, 
had just been put into “ thorough repair” — 
according to the landlord—the unmistakable 
presence of sewer gas. He was pooh-poohed 
for his pains, and facetiously told that he 
was looking for a job. Ten days after, the 
doubter was childless. His three children 
were swept off by diphtheria. 


32 


THE PLUMBER’S WORST ENEMY. 


CHAPTER V. 

THE PLUMBER’S WORST ENEMY. 

The plumber has to contend with no more 
formidable enemy than the downright mean¬ 
ness of the people who employ him. Men 
who are liberal in others ways, are too igno¬ 
rant to acknowledge the usefulness of the 
plumber, and grudge the money needed to 
keep their surroundings commonly health¬ 
ful. Cheap work is at a premium, and in 
plumbing, as in everything else, cheapness 
and nastiness go together. Plumbing at a 
very low cost is not cheap, and might almost 
as well be omitted altogether. 

And if men are stingy where their own 
houses are concerned, it is very certain that 
weak human nature will not induce them to 
be more thoughtful for the welfare of others, 
or more freehanded where themselves or 
their families are not immediately concerned, 
and, as a class, with of course many noble 
exceptions, landlords are very difficult peo¬ 
ple to stir up to a realizing sense of their du¬ 
ties in the way of plumbing. And some of 
them are downright rascals and only use 
plumbing at all because the law compels 


THE PLUMBER’S WORST ENEMY. 33 

0 

them. They could not let their houses with¬ 
out an outward show of having them in 
thorough order, and the average tenant is in¬ 
competent to know anything about this, and 
is usually satisfied with the mere outward 
show. 

In New York, a very wealthy and really 
well-meaning, though miserly, old landlord, 
got an estimate from a conscientious plumber 
for a magnificent brown-stone house. The 
plumber was told to figure low, and did 
figure low, bringing out his total for strictly 
necessary work, done cheaper than usual, to 
$850. The old man was horrified, and straight¬ 
way betook himself to another so-called 
plumber, who didn’t take any time in figur¬ 
ing, but learning the amount of the first esti¬ 
mate, offered*to do it for $600. He got the 
job. Several people died in that house 
within the year, and the first man was called 
on to make the repairs that had become ab¬ 
solutely indispensable. His first discovery 
was that the soil pipe, carefully concealed 
underground (where, it will be remembered, 
we have said it should never be), was made of 
No. 22 sheet-iron stovepipe and had rusted 
through from end to end. The house was 
thus literally standing on an open cesspool. 
The bill for repairs was $300, and the damage 


34 the plumber’s worst enemy. 

to tlie building amounted to at least as much 
more, so that cheap plumbing in this case 
did not an wer. And it never does answer. 

Of course the competition of trade tends 
to make plumbers, like other men, anxious to 
get jobs, and to bid low for them, but no 
man has a right to expose his fellow-men to 
death by bidding lower than he can do honest 
work for, and then doing dishonest work in 
order to reimburse himself. There are con¬ 
scienceless scamps who will do this, plenty 
of them, and the public, in its ignorance and 
misguided parsimony, encourages them in 
this course, while the reputation of the 
whole craft is made to suffer for the misdeeds 
of an unscrupulous minority. Honesty is 
decidedly the best policy in plumbing. The 
thorough workman is sure to reap the bene¬ 
fit of sound work. The time must always 
arrive when inferior work fails and when 
good workmen must be called on to replace 
it. 


GAS FITTINGS AND OTHER FITTINGS. 35 


CHAPTER VI. 

GAS FITTINGS AND OTHER FITTINGS. 

Modern improvements include a vast num¬ 
ber of conveniences, though at the same time, 
unless supervised with increasing watchful¬ 
ness, and originally provided with the most 
intelligent care, their convenience is apt to be 
dearly purchased by the dangers they intro¬ 
duce. 

Gas, unless in connection with thorough 
ventilation, is decidedly pernicious, but with 
good fittings and good ventilation, it is won¬ 
derfully convenient. The Plumber re¬ 
marks : 

u Great care is essential in choosing proper 
gas burners and replacing them when they 
are worn out. After years of use the best 
burners get worn out and become defective, 
causing both waste of gas and insufficient 
light. Vast improvements have been made 
in the construction of burners, but their value 
is often lessened by want of care in look¬ 
ing after them. The Scotch tip is generally 
admitted to be the best of the fish-tail lights; 
the American brass burner ranks next, while 


36 GAS FITTINGS AND OTHER FITTINGS. 

I should rank the lava tap or bat-wing burn¬ 
er third. The philosophy of burners seems 
to be to secure as much surface with the least 
thickness of flame, in order to insure perfect 
combustion. 

The size and shape of the lamp-shades em¬ 
ployed has much influence upon combustion. 
We seem to be returning to first principles in 
making globes. The fish-tail globe of four 
inch orifice is the best pattern in vogue, and 
ensures steady combustion, without flicker¬ 
ing. 

American gas fixtures are unequaled by 
those made in any other country, strange to 
say, though the best designs to-day are made 
by foreign artists. Yet the work turned out 
by English manufacturers is behind the age. 
It is mostly stamped instead of being cast, 
while they make but little if any spelter 
work. 

French gas fixtures display a certain at¬ 
tractive style, but lack finish, and are often 
merely fire gilt. Americans will go abroad 
and buy of foreign manufacturers goods in 
our line which are not a bit better than those 
made here, while they cost in many cases 
four times as much as those of American 
make. Our manufacturers spare no pains to 
make the best goods. A good designer is 


GAS FITTINGS AND OTHER FITTINGS. 87 

paid as high as $5,000, while our facilities for 
working metals are unsurpassed. The gas 
fittings of one of our fine Fifth avenue 
houses sometimes cost upward of $5,000, and 
in some cases the patterns will be destroyed 
after the work is completed, so that it may 
be unique. 

A marked change lias taken place in the 
care with which gas pipes are fitted to houses. 
Formerly, when there were fewer gas com¬ 
panies, and each one controlled a certain dis¬ 
trict, there was a regular inspection of all 
piping laid, in respect to size, tightness of 
joints, etc. The standard size pipe for an 
ordinary dwelling was \ inch, while all pip¬ 
ing was required to sustain a test of 26 inches 
with a mercury gauge pressure pump. 

Since the incorporation of so many new 
companies, which have no limit as to juris¬ 
diction, a strong competition has sprung up 
as to which company shall supply consumers. 
Hence the gas fitter does not feel his former 
sense of responsibility to any one company, 
and is less subject to complaint and correc¬ 
tion. Smaller pipes than are requisite are 
put in, while the jointing is done in so slov¬ 
enly a manner that there are but few houses 
in any of oar large cities that are free from 
leakage or which would stand the usual test.” 


38 GAS FITTINGS AND OTHER FITTINGS. 

Here is another opportunity for the self- 
respecting master plumber to put down his 
foot, and to insist on doing good work at fair 
prices. 

Cisterns are very great conveniences when 
a constant water supply laid on by pipes is 
not available. The selection of the material 
of which they are made, and the care with 
which they are constructed 'and kept in 
order, demand intelligent attention. The 
following remarks by Mr. J. Bailey Denton, 
probably the foremost authority alive as to 
the science of sanitary engineering, seem to 
cover the ground very completely : 

“ There is no doubt whatever that water is 
often most injuriously affected by foul cis¬ 
terns and foul pipes. Nevertheless, there 
are but few exceptions in which isolated 
dwellings, beyond the reach of a public sup¬ 
ply, can exist without cisterns, while there 
are many in which the disgusting practice of 
placing them in or near attics which are used 
as sleeping apartments prevails. In fact, in 
many of the largest houses in the country 
this condition of things will be found to be 
the case. 

“ The best of all cisterns are those made of 
slate, enameled inside, and those that are 
constructed of wrought iron, properly 


GAS FITTINGS AND OTHER FITTINGS. 39 

painted. Lead and zinc for the linings of 
cisterns are both decidedly objectionable, 
though I believe that lead is often condemned 
when the evil complained of is due rather to 
the effect of certain impure waters upon lead 
than to any general effect of lead upon pure 
water. It appears to me exceedingly doubt¬ 
ful whether pure water really has the effect 
—so often imputed to it—of quickly oxidiz¬ 
ing lead. 

“Where the whole of the water is raised 
to one service-cistern in the upper part of 
the dwelling, special arrangements should 
be made for the supply of water-closets and 
sculleries by separate subordinate cisterns, 
with ball-cock arrangements, so that the 
water required in either a water-closet or a 
scullery may be drawn without any direct 
communication with the main service-cistern. 
To remove defilements such as I have spoken 
of, a filter should be connected with all serv¬ 
ice-cisterns, through which the whole sup¬ 
ply of the dwelling should pass as required 
for use.” 

Mr. George E. Waring, Jr., another ac¬ 
cepted authority on sanitary engineering, has 
this to say about another matter : 

“There is a somewhat active modern cru¬ 
sade against the stationary washbowl; and 


40 GAS FITTINGS AND OTHER FITTINGS. 

as stationary washtub bowls are ordinarily 
arranged, tlie crusade is certainly justified. 
At tlie same time the convenience of these 
appliances and the degree to which they 
augment the luxury of an abundant water 
supply, and a good drainage system, are so 
great that it is worth an effort to retain them. 
A stationary wash-basin anywhere within 
the home is, under its existing conditions, in 
danger of becoming a channel for the influx 
of sewer gas; and even were our drainage 
pipes and sewers so carefully arranged as to 
reduce the production of foul gases to the 
minimum, it would still be most important 
to remove the possibility of the entrance of 
drain air anywhere within the house.” 

How this is to be done we have already 
shown, and so has Mr. R. Norman Shaw in 
the article we have quoted from him. 

It remains for the plumber to be very fas¬ 
tidious and precise about all his work in con¬ 
nection with the washbowls, standing tubs, 
&c., &c. 

The varieties of water-closets, basins, fau¬ 
cets, &c., with all sorts of patented devices 
“warranted to keep out sewer gas” are so 
numerous that we shall not attempt to enu¬ 
merate them, or enter into any argument as 
to their respective merits. In point of fact, 


GAS FITTINGS AND OTHER FITTINGS. 41 

if the soil pipe is ventilated, as it must be if 
sewer gas is to be kept out of a house, and 
siphoning prevented, one of these modern 
arrangements is practically pretty much as 
good as another. The only thing for the 
plumber is to be sure that they are set up in 
a thoroughly workmanlike manner. 

What are the best materials for tubs, &c., 
is a matter open to considerable discussion, 
and after all is somewhat foreign to the busi¬ 
ness of the plumber. Whether a bath is 
made of marble, or tinned and planished 
copper, or soapstone, or slate, or sheet-iron, 
or, as in India, of chunam or stucco, really 
matter very little, as long as the water is 
supplied as freely as desired, and runs off 
freely, and the traps and pipes are in such 
thorough order that sewer gas is kept out of 
the house. 


42 


SOME THINGS WORTH KNOWING. 


CHAPTER VII. 

SOME THINGS WORTH KNOWING. 

A Good Joint.— Perhaps the best joint for 
iron or lead pipes, where steam is used, is 
what is called a “rust joint ” of iron filings 
and sulphur. A six-story factory, which, 
with its steam expanding pipes and joints, 
had given a great deal of trouble, has ap¬ 
parently been put into proper shape, in a 
sanitary point of view, by the adoption of 
this “rust-joint,” with, however, a^ addi¬ 
tional arrangement which is kept profoundly 
secret by the inventor, who, however, says he 
can not get a patent on his device, and means 
to keep it to himself, as the only way to reap 
the benefit of it. 

A Good Cement. —English Portland Ce¬ 
ment and Rosendale Cement, used in combi¬ 
nation, have been found very valuable. 

A Strong Cement.— A capital cement, 
very strong, and of which the materials are 
always readily procurable, is thus made: 
One heaped bushel of mortar made in the 
usual way for brick-work, add 3£ quarts 


SOME THINGS WORTH KNOWING. 43 

of iron scales, \\ quarts of molasses; to be 
mixed in these proportions in quantity that 
can be used the same day. 

A Very Powerful Cement. —A cement 
which unites itself closely with iron and 
stone or earthenware, which is insoluble in 
either hot or cold water, and causes no rust; 
is composed of resin and powdered brick- 
dust. The resin (either resin and gum mas¬ 
tic, or pitch and shellac), is melted, and suf¬ 
ficient brickdust added to give consistency. 

WATER SUPPLY AND DRAINAGE. 

Provide for each man, woman, and child, 
15 gallons of water per day. 

For each horse 16 gallons, four of which 
is consumed with his food. 

For each four-wheeled carriage 16 gallons, 
and for each two-wheeled carriage nine gal¬ 
lons. 

If the source is rainfall, provide tankage 
for 120 days’ supply. 

Service tanks should be capable of hold¬ 
ing three days’ supply. 

To determine the size of pipes for water 
supply and drainage— 

Let R=the hydraulic radius of mean 
depth 


44 


SOME THINGS WORTH KNOWING. 


sectional area diameter 

=-= in pipes- 

perimeter. 4 

total fall 

S=the sine of inclination of pipe or=- 

total length 

D=Diameter of pipe in feet. 

V=Velocity in feet per second. 

A = Sectional area in feet. 

Q=Discharge in cubic feet per sec¬ 
ond. 

Neville’s formula— 

3 

V=140 y'RS—11 |/RS 
Q=AV 

(4=293.729 D 3 V=Supply in gallons 
per minute. 

Eytelwein’s formula— 

Open Channels , etc. 

y=95 yRS_ 

Q=95 A |/RS 

Pipes. 

V=48 yDS 


Q=37 |/D 5 S 






SOME THINGS WORTH KNOWING. 45 

Egg-Shaped Sewers. 
y=50 4 /DS 

Q=35 |/D 5 S=Discharge when flow¬ 
ing fd full. 

D beings the diameter of the large 
circle. 

The values of Q obtained from Eytelwein’s 
formula are less than those obtained from 
Neville’s. The latter is the most accurate 
for straight pipes free from obstructions, but 
an allowance of from J to J is required for 
curves and sudden changes of direction. 

Allow for incrustation, etc., £ of the diam¬ 
eter of pipes under 3 inches, f of an inch for 
pipes between 3 and 6 inches, and 1 inch 
for all diameters above 6 inches. 

The loss of head in inches due to bends 
may be taken approximately as equal to the 
product of the square of the velocity in 
inches per second, and the sum of the 
squares of the sines of the angles of the 
bends multiplied by the constant number 
.0003. 

In short pipes when the length does not 
exceed 1000 diameters, a correction will have 
to be made for the loss of head due to veloc- 



46 SOME THINGS WORTH KNOWING. 

ity and to the form of the oritiee at the junc¬ 
tion of the pipe with the reservoir. 

Let h —the loss of head in feet. 

v =the velocity in feet per second, and 
which may be obtained from the 
tables as a first approximation. 


Then 

7i=Cv. 

C=. 0234 for round orifices, such as 
the end of a pipe when flush with 
the side of the cistern. 

= .0155 ditto when bell-mouthed. 

= .0303 ditto when the pipe projects 
into the cistern. 

The value of h thus obtained must be de¬ 
ducted from the total head before entering 
the table for a new velocity, which, unless 
the pipe is very short, will be sufficiently 
near for practice. Any further degree of ac¬ 
curacy may be attained by repeating the 
operation, and using the last obtained ve¬ 
locity in each case. 

In practice it is considered that 5 feet of 
head per mile is required to maintain a flow 
and to overcome friction in small pipes. 


SOME THINGS WORTH KNOWING. 


47 


In Sewers provide for removing of rainfall 
per hour— 

From roofs..5 inch in depth. 

Flagged surfaces_.2 “ “ 

Graveled “ _.05 “ “ 

Meadows or grass plots .02 u u 

Paved surfaces_.10 “ u 

Sewerage 5 cubic feet per head of men, 
women and children to be removed in 24 
hours, one-half of which passes oh in from 4 
to 6 hours. 

Two feet per second is the least velocity 
which will keep sewers clear of all ordinary 
obstructions. House drains and small pipes 
require a velocity of three feet per second |to 
keep them clear. 


THE PRESSURE OP WATER AGAINST WALLS, 
SIDES OF CISTERNS, ETC. 

A=Area of surface pressed in feet. 

H=Depth of center of gravity below sur¬ 
face in feet. 

Then 

Pressure in lbs. =62J A H. 

The pressure may be considered as acting 
at a point fds of the total depth from the 

top. 







48 


SOME THINGS WORTH KNOWING. 


THE DISCHARGE OF WATER THROUGH ORI¬ 
FICES, SLUICES, ETC. 


A=Area of orifice, etc., in feet. 

H=Depth of water from surface to center 
of orifice in feet. 

Q=Quantity discharged in cubic feet per 
second. 

V=Velocity in feet per second. 

V=C 4/H. 

Q=AY. 

C=4.98 for all orifices in thiii 
plates. 

= 6.00 “ short tubes. 

=5.00 “ sluices without side 


walls, etc. 

=7.00 “ ditto with side walls, 

and for wide open¬ 
ings whose bottom is 
level with that of the 
reservoir. 

= 6.50 “ narrow openings. 


GAS SUPPLY. 

Let D=Diameter of pipe in inches. 
G=Specific gravity of gas. 

L=Length of pipe in yards. 



SOME THINGS WORTH KNOWING. 


49 


P—Pressure in inches by the water 
gauge. 

Q=Quantity of gas supplied in cubic 
feet per hour. 

D=C V 


Q=M p 


j G L Q 2 

i p 
yw~p~ t 

t GL i 


Value of C for service pipes = .073. 

“ main pipes =.063. 
Value of M for service pipes = 780. 


u 


main pipes =1000. 

To find the diminished pressure=£> at the 
end of the main pipe when there are no 
branches supplied from it. 

GLQ 2 

p: 


P—.55 


D 5 


The value of G ranges from .4 to .5; at¬ 
mospheric air being 1. In general it may be 
assumed at .45. 

P is reduced by friction and leakage from 
about 25 tenths of an inch at the works to 
about 3 tenths at the burner, according to 
distance. It also varies at the rate of about 
yVfi- of an inch for every foot of rise or fall in 
the inclination of the pipe. 

To regulate the pressure in the higher 
levels, governors are usually placed at every 








50 SOME THINGS WORTH KNOWING. 

30 feet of elevation, and siphons at every de¬ 
pression to receive the water which drains 
from the pipe. 

Allow four cubic feet of gas per hour for 
internal lights and 5 cubic feet for external 
lights. When large or Argand burners are 
used allow from 6 to 10 cubic feet per hour. 

VENTILATION, ETC. 

The draught of velocity of air in feet per 
second from chimneys or ventilating shafts. 

H=Height of shaft or of heated column of 
air in feet. 

T=Temperature of room in deg. Fahr. 

t— Temperature of external air. 

Velocity=. 365 yTI(T— t) 

The retardation of the air by friction in 
passing through straight tubes will be direct¬ 
ly as the length and square of the velocity 
and inversely as the diameter. 

A full grown man requires at least 3 cubic 
feet of atmospheric air per minute. 

Sleeping apartments require 1000 cubic 
feet of space for each occupant. 

An ordinary window with the usual ac¬ 
curacy of fitting allows from 5 to 8 cubic feet 
of air to pass through per minute, according 
to the difference of temperature between the 
internal and external air. 



SOME THINGS WORTH KNOWING. 51 

Concrete is usually formed of 1 part lime, 
2 parts sand, and 5 parts of broken stone or 
shingle. 

Where ballast or gravel containing sand is 
used, the proportions are 1 part of lime and 
7 parts of ballast, etc. 

The lime and ballast, etc., lose about } of 
their bulk when made into concrete. 

An expansion takes place in concrete dur¬ 
ing the slaking the lime, to the extent of 
about tliree-eighths of an inch to every foot 
in height, which it retains permanently. 

WEIGHT OF WATER. 

According to Act of Parliament 5 Geo. 
IV., c. 74, a cubic inch of pure water at 62° 
F. weighs 252.458, from which we calculate 
that its weight at 60° F. should be 252.5, 
or 4 cubic inches=1010 grains ; the weight, 
therefore, of a cubic foot is 62.33 lbs. The 
weight of a cubic foot is generally assumed 
by engineers as 62^ lbs., or 1,000 ounces. 
The following table of approximate values 
will be useful in all practical calculations 
founded on English measures of weight and 
capacity: 

1 cubic foot of water=1000 oz. 

1 cubic foot “ =62^ lbs. 

16 cubic feet u —1000 lbs. 


52 


SOME THINGS WORTH KNOWING. 


/ 


36 cubic feet “ =1 ton. 

1 cubic yard “ =f tons. 

1 cubic fathom “ =6 tons. 

When the weight is required in tons, re¬ 
duce the linear dimensions to fathoms, and 
multiply the volume by 6. 

For calculating water pressure in pounds 
per square inch, we must find the weighc of 
a prism of water one foot high, standing on 
a square inch. 


Weights 


1010X12 
4 X 7000 


3.03 

7 


Therefore we have the following rule : 

For every 7 feet of depth allow 3 lbs. pres¬ 
sure per square inch. To the result add one 
per cent. 

For calculating water pressure on circular 
areas, we must find the weight of a cylinder 
of water one foot high and one inch in diam¬ 
eter. 


w . -i ll v 1010_ y 12 _ 34 
Weight 14 X 4 x 7000 100 

Therefore we have the rule: 

For every 100 feet of depth alloio 34 lbs .. 
pressure per square inch of diameter 
squared. 

For sea water, which has a greater density, 
add to the results of all such calculations 2£ 
per cent., or one-fortieth part. 








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IBRARY OF CONGRESS 









